Computer architecture for managing courseware in a shared use operating environment

ABSTRACT

Methods, devices, and systems are provided in a multi-level computer architecture which provides improved capabilities for managing courseware and other content in a shared use operating environment such as a computer network. In particular, the invention provides a commercial networked instruction content delivery method and system which does not exclude synchronous sharing but is focused on asynchronous sharing. Security in the architecture provides content property holders with the ability to know how many minutes of use an individual made of licensed material and with increased certainty that their material cannot be used, copied, or sold in usable form unless lo and until a user site is connected or reconnected to a minute-by-minute counter which is located off the premises of the user. This security link helps protect software and other works which are being sold or licensed to an individual, organization, or entity, and creates income opportunities for owners of such content.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/272,221 filed Mar. 18, 1999.

The present application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser.No. 60/079,302 filed Mar. 25, 1998 ('302 application).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to content delivery over a large computernetwork, and more particularly to a computer network architecture whichintegrates management components such as a reservation system, a fundsflow system, a metering system, and a security system for preventingunauthorized use of courseware and other content.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

More and more paintings, pictures, books, songs, other performances,texts, diagrams, recordings, video clips, and courses utilizing them forinstructional purposes and/or entertainment are becoming available inmachine readable forms. In particular, many computer-assisted lessons,training materials, and other instructional courses include works whichcan be protected under intellectual property laws, such as visual works,audio works, texts, examinations, simulations, and other works. Somesensory works experienced while using computers, such as the physicalmotions performed with a flight simulator, may also be protected. Stillother computer-aided sensory experiences are foreseeable but not yetcommercially implemented, such as smells that could enhance a firefighting course or a course on the detection of illegal drugs. Thesewill also benefit from protection.

“Computerized training”, “computer-assisted instruction”,“computer-aided learning”, “web-based training”, “intranet-basedlearning”, “web courses”, “virtual university”, “computerized curriculumdelivery system”, “courseware delivery system”, “instructionalmanagement system”, “interactive educational method”, and similarphrases are used by various people in various ways, but each of theseterms refers to efforts to use computers to help educate students. Asused here, “students” are not necessarily traditional students enrolledin high schools, colleges, universities, and the like, but are ratherpeople who receive instruction through courseware. Courseware may beused by traditional students, but it may also be used by employees ofGovernment agencies and corporations, for instance.

To better understand the present invention in the context of existingcomputer-assisted educational efforts, it will helpful to understandcertain distinctions, including without limitation the following:

Course authoring vs. course content delivery;

Stand-alone computer-based training vs. networked instruction;

Synchronous sharing vs. asynchronous sharing;

Commercial systems vs. academic systems; and

Technical vs. legal means for securing intellectual property.

Courseware vs. other content

Authoring vs. Delivery

Many uses of computers to facilitate education focus on providingauthoring tools and authoring environments. For instance, tools forauthoring include tools for reformatting text into HTML format andadding, hyperlinks; tools for integrating audio and/or video contentwith text content; and tools for creating interactive forms to obtaininformation from students and provide appropriate responses. In short,authoring tools help instructors create courseware content.

By contrast, delivery tools help deliver courseware to students. In thecase of “web-based training”, “intranet-based learning”, and “webcourses”, delivery tools typically include TCP/IP networks and webbrowsers. Computer workstations themselves may also be viewed asdelivery tools, particularly when the courseware is written to be usedon a stand-alone computer rather than being delivered over a networkconnection.

Many existing approaches to computer-aided teaching include bothauthoring and delivery components. However, the problems and solutionsassociated with authoring are not necessarily the same as thoseassociated with delivery. The present invention is concerned primarilywith delivery as opposed to authoring.

Stand-alone vs. Networked Instruction

Many computer-based training systems do not require a network connectionin order to function. All necessary courseware content is stored on acomputer disk, CD-ROM, or other medium which is directly accessible tothe computer being used by the student, making it unnecessary to sendany content over a network connection. The tools and techniques formanaging courseware content in such stand-alone systems are basicallythe same as the tools and techniques for managing application programs,operating systems, and other types of software installed on userworkstations, namely written licenses, disk copy-protection schemes,license serial numbers, and the like.

By contrast, network-based training approaches either take advantage ofa network connection if one is available, or else they require such aconnection. Different network-based systems use the network in differentways. Sometimes courseware content is stored on a server and deliveredover the network to users as needed. In some cases, part or all of thecontent is stored on the local network node but licensing is enforcedthrough a server. For instance, the content stored locally might beencrypted, and the decryption key might be available only from theserver and then only after the user is authenticated. Some network-basededucational systems allow students to interact with one another and/orwith the instructor through email or chat rooms. Some systems administertests by having the student send test answers to a server, which gradesthe test and notifies the student of the results. Some systems provideinstructors with access over the network to a database of administrativeinformation such as student grades and a list of the students who haveviewed a given lesson. Of course, many systems combine one or more ofthese features and some also use networks in other ways.

The present invention is concerned with network-based coursewaredelivery systems, as opposed to stand-alone courseware delivery systems.

Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Sharing

Networked courseware delivery systems may share content between multipleusers synchronously or asynchronously. With synchronous sharing, usersand/or instructors exchange information in a real-time or interactiveway. Examples of synchronous sharing include telephone conversations,video conferencing, and chat rooms. By contrast, asynchronous sharinginvolves an exchange of information in which the participants expectsubstantial delays, or they involve a one-way flow of information ratherthan an exchange. Examples of asynchronous sharing include downloading apreviously created multimedia presentation, listserv exchanges, andUsenet postings. Email does not fit neatly in either category, becauseit can be either synchronous or asynchronous in practice.

Some aspects of the present invention are concerned with asynchronoussharing, and in particular with asynchronous delivery of previouslycreated courseware content. However, other aspects of the invention areconcerned with synchronous information exchanges, such as fundstransfers.

Commercial Systems vs. Academic Systems

As noted, some courseware students attend traditional institutions ofhigher education. In many cases, those students pay for their use ofcourseware by paying tuition to the institution. If the institution isnot the owner of the courseware, the institution then makes separatearrangements for payment to the owner. Likewise, students who areemployees of a government agency or corporation generally receive accessto courseware through their employer without personally makingarrangements to pay the courseware owner directly. In either case, atthe time a student sits down to actually use the courseware it may benecessary to authenticate the student to the system but it is notnecessary for the student to provide a credit card number or similarpayment mechanism. For convenience, courseware management systems whichdo not require direct payment from students are referred to herein as“academic systems”.

By contrast, in “commercial systems” some provision must be made forfunds transfer before a student is given full access to coursewarecontent (although a demo might be available at no charge). For instance,each student may be required to provide a credit card number, to pre-payfor access by giving cash or a check to an attendant, or to provideindividual billing information if credit is being extended.

The present invention is concerned primarily with commercial coursewaredelivery systems as opposed to academic courseware delivery systems.

Technical vs. Legal Security

As time passes, personal computers and other computational devices areable to record into machine readable form more and more complexpresentations or experiences. For example, personal computers in the1980's mainly manipulated words, numbers, and characters; in the 1990'smanipulation of icons, images, audio and video has become commonplace.The next step may include widespread use of motion, as in simulators,and perhaps smell or other additions. As the complexity of the processneeded to place these words, images, and other sensory experiences intomachine readable form increases, the value of computer software thatpresents these experiences increases. This increases in turn the valueof a security system which enforces courseware license agreements.

Intellectual property rights are provided by copyright and other laws toencourage creative effort by artists, authors, and other people whocreate paintings, photographs, animations, musical works, instructionaltexts, and other works. These works can be stored, presented, andutilized in many ways. With the increasing availability of powerfulcomputers, many works that were traditionally available on paper,canvas, or tape are now stored in computer hard drives and computer RAM(random access memory), and are displayed on computer monitors such ascathode ray tube screens and liquid crystal displays.

Early computers provided minimal technical security means. On earlypersonal computers, for instance, typing, “copy *.*” would direct thecomputer to copy every file or program in a directory. Further simplekeystrokes, such as “copy C:/*.* A:/*.*” would direct the computer toplace the new copies in a new physical location, perhaps copyingeverything from a disk directory in drive C to a portable disk in driveA. Even today most personal computers routinely provide an environmentthat makes it relatively easy to copy electronic information in the formof files.

Of course, technical means are not the only way to protect intellectualproperty rights; legal tools in the form of license agreements arewidely used. Perhaps the most widespread license agreement is a singleWorkstation agreement. In exchange for a license fee or an outrightpurchase price, a set of disks or a CD-ROM containing digitized worksand/or executable code is transferred to the purchaser, often with booksand/or instructions on paper. Sometimes the works are transferred over anetwork such as the Internet in digital form. The purchaser is typicallyinformed that the code or information may be used an unlimited number oftimes on a single workstation or other computer.

This approach worked fairly well in the day of the stand-alone personalcomputer. It does require that the producer of the code or otherprotectable work place some trust in the buyer, since the buyer oftencould copy the code or information onto more than one computer. Thebarriers were mainly legal, not technical. In locations whereintellectual property was not a well-established and respected concept,widespread copying of information and executable code reduced income andprofits to producers of computer based information and applications bydiverting income and profits to illicit “factories” which reproducedcomputer disks and CD-ROMs without permission from the rightful owner.

Many technical protection schemes were developed to combat the abilityof the market to reproduce information without payment to the owner.Some “copy-protection” schemes made it difficult to make copies,regardless of the legitimacy (e.g. for unauthorized resale versus forproper backup) of the copies.

Other schemes defined zones of control on a CD-ROM and made a “key”necessary to read the zones. For instance, if a CD-ROM had 600 megabytesof information on it, a person might buy the legal right to see, view,or use 100 megabytes for $50.00. Information would be available in thefirst 100 megabyte zone regarding the contents and cost of informationin the second or third 100 megabytes. For an additional fee or fees, theviewer could obtain the key to additional segments of the CD-ROM. Forinstance, a second $50 might buy the right to use the second 100megabytes and a third $50 fee might permit the use of the third 100megabytes.

A problem with this approach (and with copy-protection schemes) is thatonce a single purchase has been made of all the information, or accessto all the information on the disk or CD-ROM has been obtained once, theinformation could be reproduced at will. An unauthorized factory couldproduce thousands of copies to be resold with no benefit to the rightfulowner of the intellectual property.

Similar problems exist with the site license approach to protectingintellectual property. A licensed site such as a corporation or agovernment agency obtains the right to use a program or digitizedinformation from the intellectual property owner, and is given a set ofdisks, CD-ROMs, or file-server-based copies of the licensed work forauthorized internal use. The intellectual property owner relies upon thecorporation or agency not to share the information or program outsidethe bounds of the license. But the major tool for enforcing the licenseagreement was not technical. Instead, it was respect for the law and theagreement. Unfortunately, some corporations and even some governmentagencies were staffed, at least in part, by people willing to take homea copy of the software or other licensed work and share it or sell it toan illegal copying factory.

Under a common relationship between works of intellectual property andthe Internet, users view courseware and other information for free. Theinformation is shared for free because providing the information helpsthe work's owner sell a product, or saves the owner money by reducingtechnical support costs, for example. In the research community, hugesets of information are regularly exchanged via file transfer protocolor other digital means. Similarly, information in courses can be madeavailable on the web, and can be viewed via a browser.

The present invention relates to protecting content both by technicalmeans and by legal mechanisms. Although some information may be sharedfor free within a system according to the invention, much of theinformation available through the inventive system is provided only inexchange for license fees or the like paid by students or theiremployers.

Courseware v. Other Content

Those of skill in the art will recognize that many of the comments aboveapply not only to coursewvare, but also to other types of digitalcontent, including without limitation musical recordings, visual images,and the like. Such content may appear as components of multimediacourseware, but it may also be distributed independently of coursewareand/or for purposes other than education. As used herein, “content”includes both courseware and other kinds of digital content.

Additional Considerations

In addition to the considerations above, certain trends are worthnoting. Many courses are available on the web, yet in general the moreattractive the course is (visually, in activity, motion, video, sound,and so on), the more time it takes to refresh the computer screen at theuser's workstation. To reduce download time, more and more bandwidth isrequested. Users go from a POTS (“plain old telephone system”) line, toan ISDN line to a T1 line, with increasing costs at each stage. However,the cost of computer storage is dropping rapidly. As most machinereadable classes remain less than a gigabyte in size, the cost offorward storing a machine-readable class to the personal computer ownerwishing to take the class is dropping rapidly.

As the speed of market developments in the computer industry increase,the delay and cost of obtaining legal remedies increase, and thetechnical ease of copying and distributing electronic informationincreases dramatically with the interconnections available via theInternet, improved tools for managing courseware are needed.

As discussed above, a wide range of computer-assisted educationalfeatures and capabilities have been explored, at least to some extent.However, existing approaches have been less successful at combiningthese features and capabilities into an architecture which securely andeffectively shares commercial courseware. Accordingly, it would be anadvancement in the art to provide an improved computer architecture forsharing commercial courseware and other content over a network.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides improved capabilities for managingcourseware and other content in a shared use operating environment suchas a computer network. In particular, the invention provides acommercial networked content delivery method and system which does notexclude synchronous sharing but is focused on asynchronous sharing.

One method of the invention operates in a network containing aregistration server, a content server connected to the registrationserver, and several client work-stations connected to the contentserver. After a user registers with the registration server and requestsaccess, the content server authenticates the request and serves thecontent to the client workstation for presentation to the user. Contentmay be moved by the system between content servers in response to actualor anticipated user requests; users may reserve courses for laterviewing. If the target content server lacks room to receive the incomingcontent, the system makes a recommendation to the local administrator asto which content should be deleted from the content server in order tomake additional room.

Courseware and other content managed by the system may contain one ormore “critical portions” which have been treated to prevent theirunauthorized use and thereby enhance the protection of intellectualproperty rights in the content by technical means. For example, thetreating step may insert disabling code into an executable portion ofcourseware, may encapsulate the critical portion in a database table,may compress the critical portion, and/or may encrypt the criticalportion. In addition, the content server and/or client workstation maydisable use of a critical portion if an expected security handshake isnot received. Caching and other disk writes at the client may also bedisabled to prevent a permanent copy of the critical portion from beingcreated at the client. To take advantage of low cost telephoneconnections, part or all of the content may be downloaded to the clientworkstation one or more hours before serving the critical portion.

The system also monitors the connection between content server andclient, and meters use of the content so that the user pays only foractual use. Pre-existing works can be metered without being modified. Insome cases, however, a metering security module is injected by linkingor recompilation into the machine readable form of a work that containslegally protectable intellectual property. Adding the metering securitymodule alters the system, such as by inserting disabling code, so thatthe system will not play or display the content unless the meteringsecurity module is operating. “Playing” a work includes displaying it,executing it, digitally manipulating it, or otherwise performing an actgoverned by the license agreement or by relevant intellectual propertylaw. Unless the metering security module is engaged and authorizes theuse, a monitor will not display certain protected words or images ormotion images, speakers will not play certain protected sounds, motionsimulators will not perform certain protected motions, and so forth.

The user receives an invoice for use of the courseware or other content.A local administrator can be authorized to adjust invoices in responseto user requests. For instance, the administrator may determine that theuser did not finish viewing the course in question, or accidentallystarted the wrong course, and then reduce the charges on that basis. Ifthe user previously provided a credit card payment authorization topermit payment by credit card, a funds flow manager makes appropriateadjustments to the credit card charges.

In short, the architecture of the present invention provides improvedsecurity, efficiency, and convenience for the management of coursewareor other content in a shared operating environment such as a network ora collection of loosely coupled networks. For instance, additionalsecurity is provided by separating registration information fromcontent, by identifying and treating critical portions, and bymonitoring the connection over which content is supplied to a client.Convenience and efficiency are provided by optional early downloading,by reservation capabilities, and by a combination of automatic and localadministrator control. Additional features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more fully apparent through the followingdescription.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To illustrate the manner in which the advantages and features of theinvention are obtained, a more particular description of the inventionwill be given with reference to the attached drawings. These drawingsonly illustrate selected aspects of the invention and thus do not limitthe invention's scope. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network architecture according to thepresent invention, including a registration server, several contentservers, and several clients.

FIG. 2 is a diagram further illustrating a portion of the networkarchitecture of FIG. 1, including a content server and several clients.

FIG. 3 is a diagram further illustrating a registration server.

FIG. 4 is a diagram further illustrating a content server.

FIG. 5 is a diagram further illustrating a client of a content server.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating methods of the present invention,including steps for providing enhanced security to protect intellectualproperty rights in critical portions of content.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating methods of operation in the presentinvention, from the point of view of a courseware user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention relates to methods, systems, and configuredstorage media for managing courseware and/or other content in a shareduse operating environment. Courseware includes digital instructionaland/or entertainment content in the form of software, digitized sounds,digitized images, digitized motion paths, digitized chemical compounds,and other works which can be transmitted over a computer network forpresentation to a user and which contain intellectual property that isprotectable by copyright, patent, trade secret, trademark, trade dress,moral rights, common law rights, contract, and/or other sources of legalauthority. Courseware is sometimes referred to herein as a “course” or“class” or “work” or “content”, “content” and “work” are usedinterchangeably to describe material of which courseware is just oneexample. Specific examples of courseware and other content are given toillustrate aspects of the invention, but those of skill in the art willunderstand that other examples may also fall within the scope of theinvention.

A shared use operating environment is an environment in which more thanone person can use content, without necessarily sharing a specific copyof that content, with the assistance of a computer network or acollection of coupled networks. As used here, “network” includes localarea networks, wide area networks, metropolitan area networks, and/orvarious “Internet” networks such as the World Wide Web, a privateInternet, a secure Internet, a value-added network, a virtual privatenetwork, an extranet, or an intranet.

Overview of the Architecture

FIG. 1 illustrates generally an architecture 100 of a shared useoperating environment according to the present invention. Thearchitecture 100 includes at least three levels which are definedaccording to the functionality and data that are present and/orintentionally omitted from each level. Those of skill in the art willappreciate that the levels may be being named differently in variousembodiments, but for clarity they are referred to herein as aregistration server level 102, a content server level 104, and a clientlevel 106.

The registration server level 102 includes at least one registrationserver 108. The functionality and data associated with the registrationserver(s) 108 are described in detail below. At this point, it issufficient to note that each registration server 108 includes a remoteregistration manager and a registration database for new userregistration, and that each registration server 108 is free ofcourseware or other deliverable content that is managed by thearchitecture 100. In particular, courseware is not stored on theregistration server 108.

The content server level 104 includes at least one content server 110.For clarity of illustration, three content servers 110 are shown, but anembodiment of the invention may include one or more servers 110. Eachcontent server 110 is linked by a link 112 for network communicationswith a registration server 108. In an embodiment containing a singleregistration server 108, such as the embodiment illustrated, eachcontent server 110 thus has a network connection 112 (or may readilyobtain such a connection) to that registration server 108. Inembodiments containing more than one registration server 108, differentcontent servers 110 may communicate over one or more network links 112with one or more of the registration servers 108. Each network link 112may involve a dedicated link, a virtual circuit, a tunnel through one ormore intervening networks, or one or more other types of networkcommunication links known to those of skill in the art.

Each content server 110 contains courseware and/or other works managedby the architecture. Like the registration server 108, a content server110 may also contain data which is not managed by the architecture andwhich is thus of no concern here unless it interferes with operation ofthe system 100. Each content server 110 serves the managed content forpresentation to registered users, that is, users who have previouslybeen registered with the registration server 108. At a minimum,registration provides users with a unique user name or user ID; it mayalso coordinate a password or otherwise manage access control. With thepossible exception of registration for free demonstrations, which may beavailable in some embodiments, registration also obtains billing orpayment information such as the user's credit card information, purchaseorder, and/or sponsor identity.

The registration server 108 and the content server(s) 110 may beimplemented with a combination of computer hardware (e.g., disk or othernon-volatile storage, RAM or other volatile storage, one or moreprocessors, network interface cards, supporting I/0 equipment) andcomputer software (e.g., operating system software, networking software,web browser software, and inventive software as described herein). Inparticular, suitable software for implementing the invention is readilyprovided by those of skill in the art using the teachings presented hereand programming languages and tools such as Java, Pascal, C++, C, CGI,Perl, SQL, APIs, SDKs, assembly, firmware, microcode, and/or otherlanguages and tools. A given computer may host several content servers110, or it may host several registration servers 108, but a contentserver 110 and a registration server 108 may not reside on the samecomputer because that would violate the requirement that registrationservers 108 not contain courseware.

The client level 106 includes at least one client workstation 114, andtypically includes multiple workstations 114. Each client workstation114 is connectable to a content server 110 by a client-server networkcommunications link 116, such as a local area network link. At somepoint, each client workstation 114 is able to present, to at least oneregistered user, courseware and/or other content which is served overthe link 116 by the content server 110. The content may be conventionalcontent, or it may be modified by treating critical portions asdescribed herein, or it may be a combination of untreated and treatedworks. Although clients 114 are referred to as workstations in deferenceto the expected typical situation, it will become clear that laptops andother computers may also serve as clients 114.

Registration servers 108, content servers 110, and clients 114 arefurther illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, respectively. However, beforedescribing those three Figures the relationship between content servers110 and clients 114 is discussed with reference to FIG. 2, and therelationship between registration servers 108 and content servers 110shown in FIG. 1 is described in greater detail.

A Network of Content Servers and Clients

FIG. 2 further illustrates one of many possible client-server networks200 suitable for use according to the invention. The network 200includes one content server 110 and four clients 114. Other suitablecontent-server-client networks 200 may contain other combinations ofcontent servers 110, clients 114, and/or peer-to-peer nodes whichperform as content servers 110 and/or clients 114 according to theinvention; with appropriate software, a given computer may function bothas a client 114 and as a server 110. The computers 110, 114 connected ina suitable network 200 may be workstations, laptop computers,disconnectable mobile computers, uniprocessor or multi-processormachines, mainframes, so-called “network computers” or “lean clients”,personal digital assistants, or a combination thereof. Nonvolatilestorage 202, printers (not shown), and other devices may also beconnected to the network 200.

The network 200 may include communications or networking software suchas the software available from Novell, Microsoft, Artisoft, SCO, andother vendors, and may operate using TCP/IP, SPX, IPX, and otherprotocols over connections 116 that include twisted pair, coaxial, oroptical fiber cables, telephone lines, satellites, microwave relays,modulated AC power lines, and/or other data transmission “wires” knownto those of skill in the art. The network 200 may encompass smallernetworks and/or be connectable to other networks through a gateway orsimilar mechanism.

As suggested by FIG. 2, at least one of the computers 110, 114 iscapable of using a floppy drive, tape drive, optical drive,magneto-optical drive, or other means to read a storage medium 204. Asuitable storage medium 204 includes a magnetic, optical, or othercomputer-readable storage device having a specific physicalconfiguration. Suitable storage devices include floppy disks, harddisks, tape, CD-ROMs, PROMs, random access memory, and other computersystem storage devices. The physical configuration represents data andinstructions which cause the computer system to operate in a specificand predefined manner as described herein. Thus, the medium 204 tangiblyembodies a program, functions, and/or instructions that are executableby computer(s) to assist content management generally, and licenseenforcement in particular, substantially as described herein. As usedherein, “executable” includes “interpretable”; executable code thusincludes compiled code as well as codes like Java byte codes orinterpreted BASIC statements.

A Network of Registration Servers and Content Servers

As noted, the network 200 involves at least one content server level 104computer and one or more client level 106 computers 114. Some of thecharacteristics of the network 200 may also apply to networks, such asthat shown in the upper two-thirds of FIG. 1, which involve theregistration server level 102 and the content server level 104.

For instance, the computers 108, 110 may be workstations, uniprocessoror multiprocessor servers, mainframes, or a combination thereof such asa cluster. Nonvolatile storage such as a disk array and/or other devicesmay be connected to the computers 108, 110. The computers 108, 110 maybe linked by communications or networking software such as the softwareavailable from various vendors and may operate using TCP/IP and/or otherprotocols over connections 112 that include data transmission “wires”,as described above. The computers 108, 110 may likewise be part of anetwork which encompasses smaller networks and/or is connectable toother networks. Finally, the computers 1 08, 110 may be capable of usinga drive or other means to read a configured storage medium 204.

One example of a network 200 suitable for a metered securityrelationship is a network holding several thousand machine readablecourses. A conventional approach charging one fee for unlimited use ofeach machine readable course by a single personal computer 114 or asingle location (e.g., a corporation or agency) would be prohibitivelyexpensive. In an embodiment according to the invention, the securedcourseware or other content can be shared by various users, and eachminute of use is counted and billed to the user or to the sponsor of theuser (e.g., the corporation or agency employing the user). Unlimited useis not required, and the license fee is reduced accordingly.

Registration Server

FIG. 3 further illustrates a registration server 108. The registrationserver 108 includes at least a portion of a registration manager 300 andof a corresponding user registration database 302. Collectively, themanager 300 and the database 302 form a registration module whichprovides at least unique user IDs and user password support. Theregistration module may also obtain and store in the database 302information such as the identity of a corporate or government sponsorthat employs the user, and the user's email address for use innotifications of upcoming services or events.

The proposed user ID and password are checked against existingregistration information in the database 302 to make certain they areunique throughout the architecture 100 embodiment. This providessecurity to users so that charges for services will be valid andservices cannot be stolen by an unknown or duplicate user and thencharged to the wrong user ID. Of course, users must still be careful tokeep their own password information confidential and to choose passwordswhich are not simply a copy of their username or other easily guessedinformation. User login and authentication tools and techniques familiarto those of skill in the art may be used.

Security is enhanced by making all new registrations go through theregistration server 108. New user registration information is processedon the registration server 108; user registrations cannot be created byany content server 110. The updated registration database 302 isreplicated in a read-only format to content servers 110 so they canrecognize registered users, but a new user registration cannot becreated directly on a content server 110. One advantage of this approachto users is that they need not repeat registration information each timethey log onto a client 114. Registration database 302 replication may beperformed using Oracle 8.0 enterprise software or other familiar means.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, in one embodiment of the architecture100 a portion of the registration module resides on each registrationserver 108 and a portion resides on each content server 110. Otherembodiments may distribute registration module functionality differentlybetween the three levels 102, 104, 106, subject to the appended claims.Those of skill in the art will readily implement the registrationmanager 300 based on commercially available tools and languages such asC++ or Java and the description given herein. The database 302 maylikewise be implemented as an Oracle database or in another familiardatabase format. In one embodiment, Java software in the registrationmanager 300 is used to write new user registration information to anOracle database 302.

The registration server further includes a reservation manager 304 and areservation database 306. Collectively, the manager 304 and the database306 form a reservation module which permits registered users to reservecourseware or other content. In combination with the funds flow systemdescribed herein, the reservation module allows a user to book aguaranteed seat, a classroom, or another service, secure in theknowledge that it will be held for them until the specified time. Insome embodiments, the funds flow system will charge users for suchguaranteed resource reservations regardless of whether the resource isactually used, because the resource was kept unavailable for use byothers. The reservation module can present a user with a menu or aschedule of courseware presentation events in various classrooms orother locations. It can also tell the user whether a given coursewareevent or piece of content is available at a given time and whether aparticular work is already scheduled for use at that time.

Other embodiments may distribute reservation module functionalitydifferently than shown between the three levels 102, 104, 106, subjectto the appended claims. In one embodiment, the reservation moduleincludes commercial off-the-shelf scheduling software provided by AC&ELtd. of Chantilly, Va.; in other embodiments, other scheduling softwaremay be used. The reservation manager 304 may also be implemented using,commercially available tools and languages such as C++ or Java and thedescription given herein. The database 306 may be implemented as anOracle database or in another familiar database format.

The illustrated registration server 108 also includes at least part of afunds flow manager 308 which manages content usage payment information.As illustrated in FIGS. 3-5, in one embodiment of the architecture 100 aportion of the funds flow manager 308 resides on each client workstation114, a portion resides on each content server 110, and a portion resideson each registration server 108. Other embodiments may distribute fundsflow management functionality differently between the three levels 102,104, 106, subject to the appended claims.

The funds flow manager 308 accepts payment information such as apurchase order number or a credit card authorization. If payment is tobe made by credit card, the funds flow manager 308 places a hold withthe credit card provider or bank before the courseware and/or othercontent is presented. In connection with sending the user the finalinvoice, the funds flow manager 308 contacts the bank to transfer fundsfrom the user's account or the sponsor's account to the serviceprovider's account or the content owner's account.

The funds flow manager 308 makes customer interactions with the system100 faster and more effective. For example, upon first using the system100, the user may provide a billing code such as a corporate purchaseorder number or credit card number. Once this information is accepted bythe funds flow manager 308, the user may make it the default paymentoption to be applied when logging out after future service purchases.

The funds flow manager 308 may also provide a custom menu to users. Forinstance, the system 100 may be configured so that only courses approvedby a particular entity are displayed if the user identified that entityas its sponsor while signing on. If this same user wishes to see othercourses, the user may log out and then login again as an individualclient, after which all courses available for individuals (whetheremployed by the sponsor in question or not) will be displayed aspossible selections.

The illustrated registration server 108 also includes at least part of acontent movement manager 310 which moves courseware and/or other contentto content servers 110 in response to actual or anticipated requestsfrom users for access. As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, in oneembodiment of the architecture 100 a portion of the content movementmanager 310 resides on each content server 110 and a portion resides oneach registration server 108. Other embodiments may place all contentmovement management functionality at the content server level 104.

The content movement manager 310 interacts with scheduling software suchas the reservation module and a launch manager 404 which is discussedbelow. When a user selects courseware and/or other content for use at agiven location, the scheduler determines whether the content is alreadyresident on a content server 110 at or near the requested location. Thisdetermination may be made by reference to a database which trackscontent locations, or by making an inquiry to the local contentserver(s) 110.

If the content is not resident at the desired location, the schedulerplaces a call to the content movement manager 310. The content isautomatically packaged for shipment from another content server 110 byFTP (file transfer protocol) or other familiar means, with appropriateencryption and/or compression. The source content server 110 may be atypical content server 110 as described above, or it may be a mastercontent server 110. Each master content server 110 serves primarily as acontent repository for other content servers 110, as opposed to servingprimarily as a source of content for directly attached clients 114.

The content movement manager 310 checks with the target content server110 to determine whether sufficient disk space is available to receivethe incoming content. If there is not enough space, the content movementmanager 310 makes a recommendation to a local administrator regardingwhich content to delete to make room for the incoming content. Therecommendation may be based on various factors, including storagerequirements and which courseware at the target server 110 was used mostrecently or is scheduled for use. For instance, if a course has not beenused for several months and has not been reserved, the content movementmanager 310 is more likely to recommend that it be deleted than if itwas used more recently or has been reserved. In one embodiment, thecontent movement manager 310 cannot delete content; only the local siteadministrator can.

Some embodiments of the architecture 100 include a backup registrationserver 108 which contains data mirrored from the primary registrationserver 108 shown in FIG. 1. As usual with mirrored systems, the backupserver 108 will generally be in a different physical location than theprimary server 108. Data mirroring tools and techniques familiar in theart may be used.

In addition to the functionality described above, the registrationserver 108 may provide advertising and other inducements for Web walkersand potential users of the system 100 to become familiar with the system100, and to register for services provided through the system 100.

Content Server

FIG. 4 further illustrates a content server 110. The content server 110includes operating system software and networking software, such asWindows NT operating system software, UNIX or Linux operating systemsoftware, Ethernet or NetWare networking software, and/or other softwarediscussed in connection with FIG. 2.

Unlike the registration server 108, the content server 110 containscourseware and/or other managed content 400. The content 400 may take avariety of forms, including software, video, audio and other types ofdigital content. The content 400 may also be treated according to thepresent invention by identifying critical portions and providingenhanced security for those portions. Security for the content 400 as awhole is also provided by a security manager 402, which monitors use ofthe content 400. In the illustrated embodiment, a portion of thesecurity manager 402 resides on each client workstation 114 and aportion resides on each content server 110. In alternative embodiments,the security manager 402 may reside entirely on the content server 110or entirely on the client 114.

As illustrated, a portion of the registration manager 300 resides on thecontent server 110. At the content server level 104, the registrationmanager 300 only needs to recognize registered users and provide themwith access to content 400. New users are created at the registrationserver level 102. In one embodiment, the registration manager 300includes dynamic HTML and/or commercially available Oracle WebApplication Server software, from Oracle Corporation of Redwood Shores,Calif. Use of the Oracle software may require that a portion of theregistration manager 300 also reside on each client 114 and/or on theregistration server 108.

Critical portions of the content 400 may reside in database tablesmanaged by the security manager 402. For example, executable portions ofcontent or synchronization information for coordinating audio and videoin content may be stored in a database table. Database table names donot necessarily reflect content in the straightforward manner in whichmore typical content file names can reflect file content. Also, databasetables may be difficult to access directly through the file system; itmay be necessary to go through the database management software.Accordingly, placing content 400 in database tables tends to make itmore difficult for unauthorized users to locate and use the content 400.

In addition, when content 400 is moved between computers (be theyclients 114, servers 110, or a mixture), critical portions of thecontent 400 may be divided between two or more data tables so that theftof any single data table will not provide satisfactory service. As afurther precaution, in one embodiment the security manager 402 sends oneor more critical portions of content (possibly in data table format)only to a client 114's volatile memory rather than sending all criticalportions to nonvolatile memory such as a client 114 disk. Criticalportions sent only to client 114 RAM may be scrambled or erased when theclient 114 shuts down or is rebooted, making it even more difficult tomake illicit copies of the content 400.

Each illustrated content server 110 also includes a launch manager 404for launching presentations of courseware 400. The launch manager 404coordinates initial activity such as course 400 selection by the user,any necessary course 400 movement to bring the course 400 to the server110 using the content movement manager 310, initializing securityarrangements with the security manager 402, making the networkconnection 116 if necessary, and initiating presentation of the course400 by launching its executable portion or downloading it to the client114, for instance. In alternative embodiments the launch manager 404functionality is part of a meter manager 406 or part of the securitymanager 402.

The meter manager 406 meters content usage. In some embodiments, themetering manager also monitors the connection 116; in other embodimentsmonitoring is performed by the security manager 402. Regardless, themetering manager 406 keeps track of elapsed time as a measure of theuser's use of the content. A portion of the meter manager 406 resides oneach client workstation 114 and a portion resides on each content server110. The two portions of the meter manager 406 create a link which iscarried over the connection 116. That is, the metering link rides on topof an Ethernet or other conventional communications link.

In one embodiment, the meter manager 406 creates a start note (event)when courseware is successfully launched. The meter manager 406 willassociate this start note with a corresponding end note within oneminute (or other defined interval) of the time the user chooses tofinish this course 400 presentation. The difference in time betweenlaunching the presentation and finishing or interrupting the launchedpresentation is the metered difference, which will serve as the basisfor the invoice presented to the user or to the user's sponsor.

The meter manager 406 may track several open notes for a given client114, since clients 114 may use operating system software that allowsseveral executables to run at the same time. Metering statistics may beadministered using an Oracle database 408 or other database 40S toprovide system-wide statistics and system-wide information reports.

In one embodiment, meter manager 406 records are constructed in a formatthat allows their use in conjunction with a rate table, thereby allowingthe funds flow manager 308 to create an invoice based on both theparticular content 400 used and the elapsed time.

Every rate in the rate table may be associated with a destinationaccount, such as the account of a content 400 vendor or the account of acontent-providing site 200 manager. The funds flow manager 308 supportsautomatic payment using familiar and industry standard credit cardpayment methods. The funds flow manager 308 accepts electronic billinginformation from the meter manager 406, and accepts electronicallystored payment information such as credit card numbers from theregistration module.

The meter manager 406 and/or security manager 402 provide severalsecurity features. First, the client 114 desktop is disabled so that theuser can only obtain service through the metered and monitoredconnection 116. Second, each element of potential service such asmultimedia content, executables, and courseware tests, is defeated sothat its executable portion will not run even if it is located by anunauthorized user. The executables are modified to require securityhandshakes from the meter manager 406 and/or security manager 402 so theservice 400 will not operate at all, or will operate for only a limitedperiod of time, if the metered connection 116 or the meter manager 406and security manager 402 are not present.

In one embodiment, the client 114 desktop will turn off if the metermanager 406 on the client 114 is not in touch with the meter manager 406on the content server 110 on a minute-by-minute basis. For theconvenience of the user and to ease administration of the system 100,the meter manager 406 can be adjusted to invoke this “dead man's switch”at various time intervals other than one minute. An aggressive approachmakes the workstation 114 freeze if a single minute passes with nocontact. A more lenient approach may freeze functionality within fiveminutes after the connection is lost.

In one embodiment, the same polling software element in the metermanager 406 which triggers the dead man's switch also provides aperiodic update to the database 408 that is used by the funds flowmanager 308 for billing. Each minute that the polling function of themeter manager 406 returns a message from the client 114 to the server110 indicating that the user ID remains active on the client 114, thedatabase 408 is updated to reflect an additional minute of use forbilling purposes.

Polling updates each open request, such as each open coursewarepresentation. For instance, if in the first minute the user ID requestsa login and then makes one open service 400 request, an open event isupdated for this user ID in the database 408 table for the time elapsed.If the same user ID then requests a second courseware 400 presentation,each courseware 400 event ID is associated with the login by this userand this client desktop 114, and two time events occur to update thedatabase 408. Thus, subsequent courseware or other service offeringswhich are opened in the client 114 browser 502 can be added to the timetable in the database 408 using the same polling function. The pollingfunction operates similarly for sequential (as opposed to concurrent)activity. If the user ID for a given login closes a coursewarepresentation 400 or other event ID but retains the login, then while thelogin time continues to update (enabling billing for use of the personalcomputer 114), the first courseware 400 offering will end and a newcourseware 400 offering can begin during the same login session.

Client

FIG. 5 further illustrates a client 114. As noted above, the client 114may be a client in the traditional server-client network sense (furtherconfigured to operate according to the invention), or the client 114 maybe a node in a peer-to-peer network. The client 114 is always a clientin the sense that it receives courseware 400 or another service from atleast one content server 110.

The client 114 includes operating system software and networkingsoftware 500 such as Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000,or Windows NT software, Ethernet software, and/or other softwarediscussed in connection with FIG. 2.

The client 114 also includes a browser 502, such as a Microsoft InternetExplorer or a Netscape browser, through which courseware and/or othercontent 400 is presented to the user. In addition, the registrationmodule may be browser-based or Oracle-based and browser-transported, sothat any client 114 which supports an Internet connection and a Webbrowser 502 can be used to contact the registration server 108 to createa new user registration.

As previously discussed, the client 114 receives courseware and/or othercontent 400 from the content server 110. The content 400 may be providedin portions 504 which are defined in one or more of the following ways.First, portions 504 may be critical portions which have been treated forenhanced intellectual property protection as discussed elsewhere herein.Second, the portions 504 may be non-critical portions or a mixture ofcritical and non-critical portions, which are downloaded early inpreparation for later presentation to the user. Early downloading maytake advantage of the relatively low cost of telephone connections asopposed to other connections. Finally, content portions 504 may be amixture of critical and non-critical portions such as episodes orchapters in a presentation, which are sent from the content server 110to the client 114 in sequence as the user proceeds through the content400 presentation.

Other components of the client 114, including the security manager 402,meter manager 406, and funds flow manager 308, are discussed elsewhereherein.

Methods Generally

FIGS. 6 and 7 further illustrate methods of the present invention. FIG.6 illustrates generally intellectual property license enforcementmethods of the present invention, while FIG. 7 illustrates operationalmethods of the system 100 from the perspective of a courseware user.Although particular method steps embodying the present invention areexpressly illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated thatsystem and configured storage medium embodiments may be formed accordingto methods of the present invention. Unless otherwise expresslyindicated, the description herein of methods of the present inventiontherefore extends to corresponding systems and configured storage media,and the description of systems and configured storage media of thepresent invention extends likewise to corresponding methods.

License Enforcement Methods

In describing FIG. 6, an overview is provided first. Then the individualsteps are revisited and discussed in greater detail. During anidentifying step 600, at least one critical portion of the content 400is identified; courseware is one example of the “work” referred to inthe corresponding section of the '302 application to which the presentapplication claims priority. The critical portion is separated,encapsulated, encrypted, compressed, created and added, and/or otherwisetreated to enable enhanced protection during a treating step 602.

At some later time, a user requests access to the treated content 400during a requesting step 604. If the content is not already present on alocal content server 110, it may be moved to such a server 110 during astep 606. The non-critical portion of the content may be downloaded tothe user's location during an optional early downloading step 608.

The user's right to access the critical portion is verified during anauthenticating step 610, a metering and monitoring step 612 is started,and the critical portion is then provided to the user during a monitoreddownloading step 614. If the ongoing or recurring monitoring step 612detects a violation of the license, a disabling step 616 occurs toprevent or inhibit further use of the treated content. Total licensefees based on the metering are calculated and charged during anaccounting step 618. Each of these steps will now be described ingreater detail.

During the identifying step 600, one or more critical portions of thecontent 400 are identified. The critical portions should be small enoughfor rapid treatment during step 602 and rapid downloading during step614, but critical enough to make most users pay the license fees chargedduring step 618 rather than use only the non-critical portions. In amultimedia course, for example, critical portions might includeexecutable files or the answers to interactive tests. If the executableis large, critical portions might be part of the executable such as ajump table or a proprietary dynamically linked library file needed toperform I/O operations. Critical portions may be preexisting elements ofthe content 400, or they may be created and inserted in the content 400.For instance, handshake code may be added to an executable to requireperiodic successful handshakes with a server 110; if the handshakefails, execution is aborted.

In content 400 that contains no executable computer code, but merelycontains audio, visual or other data, critical portions could beinitialization or synchronization information, or particular text orimages that convey important information to a user or provide importantentertainment value. Two of the many possible examples include a finalscene of a mystery in which the murderer is revealed, and a checklistsummarizing the main steps in a diagnostic technique being taught bycourseware 400.

During the treating step 602, critical portions of the content 400 aretreated to restrict their unauthorized use. Possible treatments includecreating and inserting security codes, separating pre-existing criticalportions so they are not downloaded with the non-critical portions,encrypting critical portions, compressing critical portions with aproprietary method (which effectively combines compression andencryption), and/or encapsulating critical portions. One form ofencapsulation places the critical portion in a database table, such as arelational database table in a commercial database format used byOracle, Sybase, Informix, or another familiar vendor. This has theadvantage of making critical portions easier for the system 100 totrack, and the advantage of hiding critical portions from unauthorizeddiscovery by file system tools that rely on filenames, such as directorylisting and directory search tools.

The requesting step 604 may be performed using user login procedures,courseware and/or content selection tools such as menus, and networkcommunication means and methods familiar to those of skill in therelevant arts, including those discussed above in connection with FIG. 1and/or FIG. 2. The user may also be asked for an account password, acredit card number, or similar guarantee that the license fees for useof the content 400 have been or will be paid. During the requesting step604, the user is also shown the license agreement terms and conditions,and is then asked to actively accept or decline being bound by thelicense agreement.

During a content moving step 606, content 400 may be moved from anothercontent server 110 (which may reside in another network 200 or which maybe a repository content server 110 as discussed herein) to the localcontent server 110 which serves the client 114 that is being used (orthat will be used) by the user in question. This is accomplished asdescribed in connection with the content movement manager 310.

Content 400 which requires significant download time can be loaded earlyduring the step 608, at least in part, to minimize the delay experiencedby users. As the cost of telecommunications services has remainedlargely constant over time, while the price of memory and computationalpower have doubled in cost-effectiveness about every eighteen months,the invention allows one to reduce or eliminate the serving of machinereadable classes in real-time over the web or the Internet or from afile server. Instead, content 400 is downloaded during step 608 usingtelecommunications connections which are slow but relatively inexpensiveand often billed according to a flat rate rather than connection time.

For instance, knowing that tomorrow is the first day of class in a newcourse, the multimedia sound and images in the course 400 could bedownloaded by students during the night before the course 400 ispresented. Critical portions such as the executable code, audiovisualsynchronization, or order of presentation could then be downloaded on anas-needed-and-still-authorized basis the next day during step 614.

During the step 612, a timing meter is started in cases where thelicense fee is not a flat per-use fee but is based instead on theconnection time. Monitoring and metering may be separate steps in othermethods according to the invention; monitoring is concerned primarilywith preventing unauthorized use, while metering is performed as a basisfor calculating license fees. Regardless, a system according to theinvention starts monitoring the connection 116 to ensure that the use isstill authorized and to prevent attempts to obtain a complete copy ofthe content which is not protected by treatment of critical portions. Inparticular, initial or further downloading of critical portions duringstep 614 is not allowed (because part of disabling step 616 occurs) ifthe monitoring step detects any of the following conditions:

1. The user logged in is not an authorized user (step 604 authenticationfailed);

2. The user site is not at an expected, authorized network 200 (IP orLAN or MAC or Ethernet and/or socket or port) address; or

3. The user site 114 failed to return an expected periodic securityhandshake value.

With further reference to the treating step 602 and the monitoring andmetering step 612, the present invention allows an intellectual propertyowner to insert a meter and/or security code into any information set,executable application, image, video, or other computer based work 400containing intellectual property, and to require a permanentrelationship between such works and the metering software 406 which islocated on a machine 110 remote from the user site 114. The relationshipis preferably simple, lowering the processor and bandwidth requirementsof the network communication path 116 between the metering server 110and the user's site 114. The relationship ensures in most cases that acopy of the work 400 will not be fully available except for licensedtime periods and at licensed user sites.

In some embodiments, the content 400 has embedded in it a time stamp, adate stamp, a copy stamp, an Internet Protocol (“IP”) address stamp,and/or code enforcing a requirement that the treated content onlyexecute or display on the client 114 CRT when the computer 114 receivingthe copy is in a recognized relationship with the computer 110 whichsent the course. This relationship is via a POTS line 116, or anytelecommunications link 116 which provides constant or reliablepresence.

A constant or reliable presence allows a handshake once per configurabletime interval or configurable repeated event. The handshake verifiesthat the user computer 114 in contact with the server 110 is still thesame user computer 114, using its IP address or the IP address of itsgateway and the password into the gateway required by its Internetservice provider. On a local area network 200, the handshake may use theLAN address.

In some embodiments, in addition to the consistent verification that thecontent 400 is resident on the same user computer 114 connected via thesame Internet service provider gateway IP address, both the server 110with the meter 406 and the computer 114 with the content 400 haveidentical “random” number Generators. These random or pseudo-randomnumbers must match each interval, or at least be in the same order (itis understood that the content recipient computer 114 may be hundreds ofmilliseconds away from the server 110 when a connection required for acourse 400 travels over part of the Internet).

The random number pairing is once per client-server pair 114, 110; perwork-station 114; or per connection 116, depending on the embodiment. Inone embodiment, for example, each connection 116 spawned from a contentserver 110 will have the same random paired number set. One set runs onthe server 110, and the same set runs on each user computer 114 which isreceiving the content 400 essentially simultaneously. To confirm thatthe sequence is the same, each computer 110, 114 has a date/time stampprogram 402 running, and each date/time stamp must agree at least onceper minute. Thus, any computer 114 presenting a course 400 in this waymust reset its date/time clock to agree with the content server 110date/time stamp.

In addition to, or instead of, metering content executables, the presentinvention can also meter “data transfer executables”. Examples of datatransfer executables include applications used to operate or accessvideo conferencing cards, network interface cards, CD-ROM controllers,fax systems, modems, and other data transfer devices that can be used inmultimedia, audio, or video presentations. For instance, the use ofcodec (compression - decompression) software and/or hardware which isused to transfer audio or visual data between data formats can bemetered according to the invention.

Such metering and authentication systems and methods allow any course400 to be downloaded to the personal computer 114 of the person who willbe taking the course 400. The user's computer 114 may be located at theuser's place of employment or at the user's home or at a trainingfacility. An external hard drive can be rented with the course 400 andauthentication software mounted. This hard drive can be connected to apersonal computer 114 running Windows 95, Windows 2000, Windows NT,Macintosh, or other familiar operating system software, via comm portone or the like (WINDOWS 95, WINDOWS 2000, and WINDOWS NT are marks ofMicrosoft; MACINTOSH is a mark of Apple). Any personal computer user notneeding additional hard drive space can simply make an FTP request, setup the request before going to bed, and find the course 400 (or most ofit if critical portions are not available for early downloading)available in the morning. By having much or all of the course 400available on his or her personal computer 114, much or all of the course400 will run at the speed of the backplane of that computer 114, whichis often substantially faster than an Internet or other network link 116transfer rate.

In one embodiment, the only information going back and forth via theInternet or via a POTS line connection 116 to the server 110 will behandshaking such as repeats of the IP address of the gateway, pinging,and a stream of paired random numbers to authenticate that the content400 was obtained from this server 110. The name and password of thestudent will be sent each minute (or other predetermined interval) aswell. Thus, each minute an IP address is sent, a name, a password, and asequence of paired random or quasi-random numbers. In welt under onekilobyte of communication data, the content 400 will be authenticatedfor another interval of use. As noted, the present invention providesthe ability to disable the courseware or other content 400 on thestudent's personal computer 114 whenever the link 116 with the contentserver 110 is broken or lost.

To assist in the apprehension of someone who attempts to violate thesecurity system of the present invention, the security system willrecord where the copy was obtained. A series of copy locations hidden inthe content 400, or similar digital watermark information, maintain arecord of IP gateway information, password information, and user IDinformation on how the copies were made, what order the copies were madein, and the time and date stamp of each copy of the content 400. Theinformation can be maintained in a circular buffer holding N records,with information for the N-plus-first copy being copied over theinformation related to the first copy so that the buffer file sizeremains the same.

User View of Operational Methods

FIG. 7 illustrates methods for operating the architecture 100 from thepoint of view of a user. During a registering step 700, the user sitsdown at a client 114, locates the service provider Web site which ishosted by the registration server 108, and then provides registrationinformation to the registration manager 300. Suitable registrationinformation may include, for instance, the user's name, address,sponsor, password (the password may also be generated by theregistration manager 300 rather than be provided by the user), andpayment information such as a purchase order number or credit cardnumber.

The registration manager 300 verifies that the username and password areunique by checking the database 302, and then adds a new userregistration record to the database 302. Finally, the registrationmanager 300 notifies the user that registration is complete. If asponsor was identified by the user, the registration manager 300optionally also notifies a course administrator at the sponsor by email.

During an optional reserving step 702, the registered user reviews menusof available content and associated times and locations, and places oneor more reservations with the reservation manager 304. The reservationmanager 304 verifies availability and enters the reservation, using thereservations database 306. If a reserved course is subsequentlycanceled, some embodiments of the reservation manager 304 send a noticeto the registered user by email.

During a payment authorizing step 704, the registered user providescredit card information, and provided implicit or explicit authorizationto bill the credit card for services provided. As noted above, this stepmay be part of the registering step 700. The payment authorizing step704 may also be performed later, if the necessary information was notavailable at the time of beginning registration, for instance, or if theuser wishes to identify a different credit card after initiallyregistering.

More generally, the method steps illustrated in the Figures anddiscussed in the text may be performed in various orders, except inthose cases in which the results of one step are required as input toanother step. For instance, a user must be registered in order to viewcourseware 400 except to the extent that a particular embodimentprovides demonstration courseware at no charge to unregistered users.Likewise, steps may be omitted unless called for in issued claims,regardless of whether they are expressly described as optional in thisDetailed Description. For instance, users who are sponsored by acorporation or agency need not provide credit card information during astep 704. Steps may also be repeated (e.g., running several courses), orcombined (e.g., providing credit card information during registration),or named differently (e.g., running a course may be referred to as“receiving services”).

During a login step 706, a registered user logs into the content server110. The initial login step 706 may be performed automatically when theuser first registers during step 700. Later login steps 706 may beperformed each time the user begins a new session at a client 114.During the login step, the user provides a username and password to thesecurity manager 402, which verifies that the corresponding user recordexists in the registration database 302 replica on the content server110.

In addition, if the user has indicated that payment will be by creditcard, then the funds flow manager 308 checks the credit card and placesa hold on the credit card for an amount which may depend on the priorhistory of the user, the user's sponsor, the courseware 400 requested,and similar information. In some embodiments, users are not allowed tocomplete the login process 706 unless the payment information providedby the user or by the user's sponsor has been accepted as valid by thefunds flow manager 308.

A user may wish to bill part of a sitting to one account, such as anindividual account or a particular employer, and bill a second part ofthe same day's training to a second account. This may be achieved bylogging in under the first account, receiving the first part of thedesired services, logging out, and then logging in again with adifferent user ID and/or password before receiving the second part ofthe desired services.

During a selecting step 708, the user may select one or more courses 400to be presented at the client 114. In some cases, the course selectionwill already have been made by the user's sponsor. Courses 400 may beselected using menus and/or other user interface tools and techniquesfamiliar in the art, which contain course 400 description, cost, andavailability data copied from the reservation database 306.

During a step 710, the course 400 is presented to the user at the client114. This involves sending courseware content 400 from the local contentserver 110 to the client 114 for viewing during a step 712 by the user.It may also include interaction between the user and other users and/oran instructor during a step 714. Interaction may be provided, forexample, by using email, chat rooms, live audio, arid/or live videocarried over the network connection(s) 116. In addition, during anoptional step 716 the user may take one or more interactive tests orquizzes. These may be graded by courseware 400 which is resident on theworkstation 114, or the user responses may be transmitted to the contentserver 110 for grading there, with the results then being sent back tothe client 114 and/or to the instructor.

Presentation of courseware during step 710 may be interrupted by a step718 in response to a key press, mouse click, or other action by theuser. For instance, the user may decide not to continue the remainder ofthe presentation 400 at the present time, or may wish to terminate thispresentation and start viewing a different course 400. The user may alsosimply want to take a temporary break, and then resume the presentationduring a subsequent step 720.

During a step 722, the user receives an invoice for services rendered.This may be done in conjunction with a logout during step 722, orlogging out may be delayed until a step 726 in which the invoice ispaid. From the system's point of view, once a user decides to log out,the meter manager 406 completes the database 408 time table for the userID, including each event ID associated with each courseware offering,test offering or other service provided during the session. The fundsflow manager 308 then uses the database 408 time table and the database408 rate table to present an invoice on the computer screen in thebrowser 502.

The user may accept or decline the stated invoice. If the user acceptsthe invoice, the funds flow manager 308 in the content server 110communicates that acceptance to the funds flow manager 308 in theregistration server 108, which in turn contacts the bank to clear thehold previously placed during step 702, 704, 708 and have the bank applythe credit card charges to the user's card.

If the user declines the invoice, the user may seek an invoiceadjustment during a step 724. The local network 200 administrator triesto answer any questions the user has about the invoice and to obtainuser acceptance of the invoice, possibly after an adjustment. The localnetwork 200 administrator or other local site personnel are authorizedto make adjustments to the bill during step 618. A new invoice amountwill then be passed to the funds flow manager 308 for credit card orother payment activity based on the payment terms presented during userregistration and this particular session, and the results of anyadjustment discussions.

Additional Comments on Security

In the architecture 100, security may be provided in several waysincluding those expressly noted above. Allowing one and only one personto have a given user ID helps ensure that persons who use content 400are properly billed for such use, as noted above. But in addition, theuser ID and the credit card information help protect the reservationmodule. If reservations were available without a credit card hold orsimilar protection, a malicious user could reserve seats in a network200 (or even reserve all seats in the entire architecture 100) with nolegitimate intent to use them. By requiring a credit card forreservation, the reservation module is protected because adequate creditmust be available to pay for all reservations placed.

Because content is not stored on the registration server 108, securityprecautions can be taken that might not otherwise be available. Forinstance, access to the home pace can be disabled so that outsiderscannot input messages or modify HTML code on the registration server108. Dynamically produced Web pages based on information provided by theuser, and created by Oracle or similar software, are also more difficultto modify than static HTML pages. Firewalls, encryption, and other meanscan also be used to protect credit card numbers of users in time-limitedsecure transactions without reducing security to allow continualcourseware 400 usage from the same server 108. In one embodiment, theregistration server 108 exports credit card information to other serverswith heightened security; once the export is complete, the credit cardinformation is deleted from the registration server 108.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides systems, devices, and methods fortechnical enforcement of intellectual property right agreements. Asecurity enforcer is inserted into deliverable content, or a small butcritical portion of the content is treated to make it unusable withoutauthorization (unable to execute, for instance), or both treatments areperformed. A relationship over time is created between a meter and thetreated (secured) content; without the relationship, use of the contentis hindered or disabled. The critical portion is never placed in auser's persistent (nonvolatile) storage, such as a disk or tape storage,or alternatively is never placed in persistent storage in usable(executable, runnable, viewable, legible, audible) form. At least partof the meter is remote from the user, being located on a network server110 while the user uses a client computer 114. The meter is made uniqueto the content server 110, through the use of IP addresses, coordinatedrandom numbers, and the like. The meter stops running, and the contentstops being fully usable, if the client 114 is disconnected for longerthan a predetermined period or if the security handshake fails for someother reason.

As used herein, terms such as “a” and “the” and item designations suchas “client” are inclusive of one or more of the indicated item. Inparticular, in the claims a reference to an item means at least one suchitem is required. When exactly one item is intended, this document willstate that requirement expressly.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom its essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to beconsidered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive.Headings are for convenience only. The scope of the invention is,therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription. All chances which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by patent is:
 1. A method formanaging content in a shared use operating environment, the shared useoperating environment including a registration server, a content serverconnectable by a network link to the registration server, and a clientworkstation connectable by a client-server network communications linkto the content server, the method comprising the steps of: registering auser at the registration server, thereby characterizing the user as aregistered user; receiving at the content server a request by theregistered user for access to content which contains at least onepreviously treated critical portion; authenticating the request; servingat least the critical portion over the client-server networkcommunications link for presentation to the registered user at theclient workstation; and metering usage of the content by the registereduser.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of treatingthe critical portion, thereby enabling enhanced intellectual propertyright protection of the content by technical means.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the treating step comprises inserting disabling codeinto an executable portion of courseware content.
 4. The method of claim2, wherein the treating step comprises encapsulating the criticalportion in a database table.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising the step of monitoring the client-server networkcommunications link.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising thestep of disabling use of at least a portion of the content after anexpected security handshake is not received.
 7. The method of claim 1,further comprising the step of presenting the registered user with aninvoice for usage of the content.
 8. The method of claim 7, furthercomprising the step of allowing a local administrator to adjust theinvoice presented to the user in response to a request by the user foran adjustment.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step ofdownloading at least one non-critical portion of the content to theclient workstation at least two hours before serving the criticalportion.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step ofdisabling caching and other disk writes to prevent a copy of thecritical portion of the content from being created on nonvolatilestorage at the client workstation.
 11. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising the step of obtaining a credit card payment authorization topermit payment by credit card for usage of the content.
 12. The methodof claim 1, further comprising the step of reserving a particular pieceof courseware content for a particular registered user.
 13. A computerstorage medium having a configuration that represents data andinstructions which will cause at least a portion of a multi-levelcomputer system to perform method steps for managing courseware in ashared use operating environment, the shared use operating environmentincluding a server and a client connectable by a network communicationslink to the server, the method comprising the steps of: receiving at theserver a request by a registered user for access to courseware whichcontains at least one previously treated critical portion; serving atleast the critical portion over the network communications link forpresentation to the registered user at the client; and monitoring thenetwork communications link to prevent unauthorized use of thecourseware.
 14. The configured storage medium of claim 13, wherein themethod further comprises the step of treating the critical portion,thereby enabling enhanced intellectual property right protection of thecourseware.
 15. The configured storage medium of claim 14, wherein thetreating step comprises inserting disabling code into an executableportion of the courseware.
 16. The configured storage medium of claim14, wherein the treating step comprises encapsulating the criticalportion in a database table.
 17. The configured storage medium of claim13, wherein the method further comprises the step of presenting aninvoice for usage of the courseware.
 18. The configured storage mediumof claim 17, wherein the method further comprises the step of allowing alocal administrator to adjust the invoice presented.
 19. The configuredstorage medium of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises thestep of downloading at least one non-critical portion of the coursewareto the client at least one hour before serving the critical portion. 20.The configured storage medium of claim 13, wherein the method furthercomprises the steps of metering usage of the courseware and charging formetered usage.
 21. The configured storage medium of claim 13, whereinthe method further comprises the step of disabling disk writes to reducethe risk that a copy of the critical portion of the courseware will becreated on nonvolatile storage at the client.
 22. The configured storagemedium of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises the step ofreserving with a guarantee a particular piece of courseware for aparticular user.
 23. A multi-level computer architecture for managingcontent in a shared use operating environment, the content containing atleast one previously treated critical portion, the architectureincluding: a registration server level including at least oneregistration server, each registration server comprising a remoteregistration manager and a registration database for new userregistration, and each registration server being further characterizedin that it is free of content managed by the architecture; a contentserver level including at least one content server, each content serverlinked for network communications with a registration server, eachcontent server containing content managed by the architecture, thecontent containing at least one previously treated critical portion, andeach content server being further characterized in that it serves suchcontent critical portions only for presentation to registered users,namely, users who have previously been registered with a registrationserver; and a client level including at least one client workstation,each client workstation connectable to a content server by aclient-server network communications link, and each client workstationbeing further characterized in that it presents to at least oneregistered user a content critical portion which is served over theclient-server network communications link by the content server.
 24. Thecomputer architecture of claim 23, further comprising a security managerfor preventing unauthorized use of the content.
 25. The computerarchitecture of claim 24, wherein a portion of the security managerresides on each client workstation and a portion resides on each contentserver.
 26. The computer architecture of claim 24, wherein criticalportions of the content reside in database tables managed by thesecurity manager.
 27. The computer architecture of claim 24, wherein thesecurity manager is further characterized in that it sends at least partof a critical portion of content only to a volatile client workstationmemory rather than sending it to a nonvolatile client workstationmemory.
 28. The computer architecture of claim 23, wherein theregistration server further includes a reservation manager and areservation database which permits registered users to reserve content.29. The computer architecture of claim 28, further comprising a fundsflow manager for managing payment information, wherein the reservationmanager, the reservation database, or both, operate with the funds flowmanager to provide registered users with guaranteed contentreservations.
 30. The computer architecture of claim 23, furthercomprising a funds flow manager for managing content usage paymentinformation.
 31. The computer architecture of claim 30, wherein aportion of the funds flow manager resides on each client workstation, aportion resides on each content server, and a portion resides on eachregistration server.
 32. The computer architecture of claim 23, furthercomprising a meter manager for metering content usage.
 33. The computerarchitecture of claim 32, wherein a portion of the meter manager resideson each client workstation and a portion resides on each content server.34. The computer architecture of claim 23, wherein the content comprisescourseware.
 35. The computer architecture of claim 23, wherein eachcontent server further comprises a launch manager for launchingpresentations of courseware content.
 36. The computer architecture ofclaim 23, wherein each client workstation comprises a web browserthrough which content is presented.
 37. The computer architecture ofclaim 23, further comprising a backup registration server containingdata mirrored from the registration server.